We are members of the Santa Barbara Craftivists, a group that combines our activism with our handcrafts. As a group, we donate both monetarily and with our heartfelt commitments and talents to nonprofits and other worthy causes. We meet weekly to discuss our projects and other topics pertinent to life here on the Central Coast.
This week we discussed the election on June 2, 2026, and the fact that various people and/or organizations are urging voters to vote early. We feel this is a mistake.
There is uncertainty around who the final gubernatorial candidates will be as, of the 61 names on the ballot, a number have already dropped out, and more may drop out before June 2. There is also confusion in the minds of some voters around the date-stamping of ballots by the U.S. Postal Service.
In our opinion, as things are changing daily, voters should take advantage of the opportunity to listen to debates and interviews, read polls, and study data about the many gubernatorial candidates. This will also allow voters to ensure their vote meaningfully counts as candidates may continue to drop out closer to the election.
As a group, we plan to wait until June 1 or June 2 to complete our ballots and take them directly to a County Ballot Drop Box or a local Polling Place.
We urge the Santa Barbara Independent to advise your readers to do the same to ensure no vote is wasted. Please encourage your readers to go to countyofsb.org to find their local Ballot Drop Boxes and Polling Places.
The stakes are high and this election is too important not to have a plan!
